December 2017 Announcements - Wicklow Church of Ireland

WICKLOW CHURCH OF IRELAND

December 2017 Announcements

There are some great events coming up this winter. Have a read of December’s Newsletter and see what you can you come along and support! Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

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Advent Services 7th and 21st December – Wicklow Parish Church Advent is a season of preparation for the celebration of the incarnation - God made human - at Christmas. We encourage everyone to give some serious thought to this season. What does the birth of Jesus mean to us? How does it impact our world? How can we extend the season of peace and goodwill throughout the rest of the year? As we prepare for the joy of Christmas day, throughout December, there will be a short, reflective service on Thursday evenings, in the church. The services will start at 8pm, and last no longer than half an hour. These services will take place on the 7th and 21st of December.

Youth Groups 2nd December - United Youth United Youth (4th-6th class) will meet on Saturday 2nd December, for a Christmas outing to Wicklow Bowl! We will meet at Wicklow Bowl to begin at 5pm. The trip is subsidised, so costs just €5. Please let Jack know if you want to attend, as places are limited. United Youth is open to all children in 4th-6th class who are associated with the parish or the school. United Youth meets on the first Saturday of each month, Sept – June. Teen Youth We wish a happy and peaceful Christmas to all members of the youth group, and hope to see you at church over the Christmas period. We re-commence on 14 January, in EGS.


Gift and Cake Sale 9th December 10am – 3pm Fitzpatrick's Pub, Wicklow Main Street There will be a Gift and Cake sale on Saturday 9 December, in Fitzpatrick's pub on the Main Street in Wicklow, from 10am-3pm. If anyone can donate cake or any Christmas gifts in good condition, please speak to a member of the social and fundraising committee, or contact Jack: 0861727654. Like and Share our Facebook Event about the Gift and Cake sale with your family and friends

Hamper Draw 10th December – The Glebe School On Sunday 10th December we will draw for the Christmas Hampers, put together by Tish Costello. Entry to the Christmas draw costs €2 and tickets are available from Tish. The Christmas Raffle will take place after the 10 am service in the Glebe School.


Institution 14th December 8pm Wicklow Parish Church Rev Jack Kinkead will be instituted as Rector on 14 December, by the Archbishop of Dublin, Most Rev Michael Jackson. The service begins at 8pm, and there will be a reception in the Glebe School immediately following the service. It will be great to see a good number of parishioners from Wicklow and Killiskey, gathering together in celebration as a parish family.

Church Decorating 16th December 10am Wicklow Parish Church Help wanted! We will be decorating the church for Christmas on the 16th of December at 10am. No experience necessary and all would be very welcome. Enquires to Allyson 086 8597423


Christmas Carol Rehearsals Every Sunday 5pm Wicklow Parish Church Christmas Carol rehearsals will be held each Sunday at 5pm in Wicklow Parish Church. No experience required and ability to read music not necessary either. Some festive fun for all! The rehearsals which are on every Sunday will be leading up to a Carol Service on December 17th!

Confirmation If anyone is interested in taking part in classes towards confirmation, they will start in the new year. Confirmation is a serious undertaking, as a public demonstration of Christian faith. For anyone who is interested in confirmation, but who has fallen out of the habit of regular church attendance, perhaps now is a good time to re-engage with church life. Anyone is welcome to join confirmation preparation, but nobody has to be confirmed unless they are confident in the promises they will be asked to make.

Messy Church Due to lots of other events in December, we are going to postpone Messy Church until the new year watch this space...


Surrounding Parish News

1st December 8pm Killiskey Parish - Bel-Air Hotel Ashford In recognition of significant anniversaries this year, Killiskey Parish and Ashford Parish are holding a joint social evening in the Bel-Air Hotel on Friday 1st December starting at 8pm. The cost of €10 includes finger food and musical entertainment. It promises to be a fun evening to kick start the Christmas celebrations so bring your family and your friends! Tickets are available from Bernadette Glover (087) 9553171 and Amanda Mooney (087) 6125124. 8th December 8pm – St. Patrick’s Church Wicklow The Three Tenors will be playing in St.Patrick’s Church on December 8th at 8pm. There will be popular classic hits from Sinatra, the Dubliners, Pavarotti as well as some Christmas favourites! Tickets are available from St. Patrick’s parish office on 04040 61699 or Earls Newsagent on the main street.


General Announcements Church Services Sunday 3rd December – 9am Holy Communion. 10am Advent Sunday service Wednesday 6th December –10.30am Holy Communion, with prayers for those who are sick. Tea / coffee served afterwards in the church Thursday 7th December – 8pm Reflective service for Advent Sunday 10th December – 9am Holy Communion. 10am Family Communion. Christmas Raffle afterwards in the Glebe School Wednesday 13th December – 10.30am Holy Communion, with prayers for those who are sick. Tea / coffee served afterwards in the church Thursday 14th December – 8pm Institution of Rev Jack Kinkead as Rector of Wicklow and Killiskey, led by Archbishop Michael Jackson. Reception afterwards in the Glebe School Sunday 17th December – 9am Holy Communion. 10am Morning Prayer. 7pm Candlelit service of 9 lessons and carols

Church Services Continued… Thursday 21st December – 8pm. Reflective service for Advent Sunday 24th December – 9am Holy Communion. 10am Showing of the movie 'A Christmas Carol', in East Glendalough School. 11.15pm. First Eucharist of Christmas Monday 25th December – 9am Holy Communion. 10am Family Communion service. Children are encouraged to bring a toy or other present with them to church Wednesday 27th December – NO SERVICE Sunday 31st December – 9am Holy Communion. 11am Joint service with Killiskey Parish, in Nun's Cross church. Holy Baptism. Flower Rota Please sign the flower rota sheet in the porch of the church if you are available to help with church flowers. This isn’t a big job & doesn’t involve fancy arrangements (unless you want to!) but is about having some fresh flowers, in vases, in church week by week.

Tuesday 19th December – 7.30pm. EGS carol service Wednesday 20th December – 10.30am Holy Communion, with prayers for those who are sick. Tea / coffee served afterwards in the church

Help Wanted! www.wicklowchurchofireland.com We always need volunteers to help with parish organisations and events. Could you help with: Children’s activities, youth clubs, fundraising events,

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Parish Finances As each parish in the Church of Ireland is financially self-sustaining, we can only function financially through the good will of our parishioners. Any parishioners, who have not yet entered a planned contribution scheme, please speak to Philip Hastie (parish recorder) or John Clarke (hon. treasurer 0874127386). If you have parish envelopes, cash or cheques placed on the collection plate can be recorded. Alternatively, there are standing order forms available in church. If a taxpayer donates €250 or more per year (and we can trace the donations through the envelope scheme or standing order) we can claim a further 45% of the amount through the government’s charity tax relief scheme. The details of any person’s contributions are kept completely confidential. This income is used to maintain the ministry of a full time Rector, to maintain the beautiful church building, and to provide resources for parish activities, such as Sunday Club, Messy Church and youth clubs, as well as church services. Please consider the parish as part of your financial plan. Crèche It is wonderful to see so many small children coming to church with their parents. We encourage all families to bring your children to church & establish a good routine from an early age. To make it easier for parents to engage in worship themselves, a crèche has started, for children of preschool age. It runs each Sunday during the main 10am service. Anyone who might like to help (even occasionally) please contact Jack.

Capital Projects We have been fortunate in receiving council grants to help in some of the maintenance work required for our church building. However, in order to avail of these grants, we must match the funding offered by the county council. If anyone is in a position to help with financing necessary capital works, please contact a member of the Finance Committee: John Clarke (0874127386), Jim Costello (0867701456) or Shane Fingleton (0862485045). Prayers We are really keen to involve more people in worship in Wicklow Parish. One way to do this is to involve people in leading the prayers of intercession at services. Would you be willing to help with this, on an occasional basis? If so, please speak to Jack. There is an information pack available, with pointers on how to lead a congregation in prayer – have a look before committing if you are interested but unsure.

Parish Administrator If your postal, email or phone number has changed please let us know. Also to promote events or post information in the parish newsletter or on the website, please contact Sinead by email on: [email protected]
